TRU ROCK REVIVAL
May 2024
Theater of Malum
Reviewed By Lea Caffrey, May 2023
The first time I saw Theater of Malum is when they were one of the opening bands for New England Rock Fest in October of 2022. These 4 young men hit the stage and wowed everyone in attendance! Their most recent show was opening for The Iron Maidens in early April. They are a group of high school juniors from West Springfield and have been playing as Theater of Malum since 2018. The band started after they participated together in a 7th grade talent show where they performed the song Sad But True by Metallica. It was then that they knew that they needed to pursue music as a career. This was the life for them.
Darren Chraplak is the front man for the band, taking on the roles of vocals and rhythm guitar. He has been playing guitar for almost 10 years and has been performing on stage since he was 8 years old.
The lead guitarist is Eli Olesen. This young man is the newest member of the band. During the COVID lockdown is when he decided to learn the guitar and has only been playing since early 2020. Practicing for over 8 house a day during the lockdown, his skills and dedication are very apparent in his playing.Bruce (The Animal) DuMont is the drummer and has been playing for over 8 years. He started playing drums on his pencil box in class, which is what inspired his love for percussion.
Bruce is the lead snare player for the West Side Marching Terriers, which has helped him improve his skill set.
Ian Gallacher is the bass player and has been playing bass since early 2020. He has been playing stringed instruments since he was very young. He started playing violin and guitar then fell in love with the bass. His musical influence comes from many genres, as he finds joy in playing jazz, blues and of course rock and roll.
Theater Of Malum has recently finished recording their debut album which is scheduled to release during the summer of 2023. The full length record was recorded at Ghost Hit Recording, being produced by Jake Subin. Darren said “Being in the studio is a much different endeavor than being onstage, however we wanted to capture the same energy we produce there, just on a physical recording. I definitely feel that we have succeeded with that goal. We are very excited to share with everyone the album we have been working on over the last year!”
This is certainly a band that is on the climb and taking New England by storm. Check out their YouTube and social media and watch for their album release. You will not be disappointed!
